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Search for the best digital art software and the best drawing software and you’ll find plenty of options, all offering a broad array of brushes, design tools, and sharing possibilities to get your artwork out there.
But my team and I have tested and reviewed all the best graphic design software and best drawing apps for mobile devices and when it comes to painting and drawing on desktop, these are our top-rated tools.
In our experience, Adobe Photoshop remains the best for drawing and digital art overall. Whether you’re a professional or beginner, it’s a must-try that helps you create just about any kind of digital artwork, and even includes AI tools that streamline the more manual tasks for artists.
It’s not the only option out there, though, and I’ve rounded up some of the best Photoshop alternatives around for anyone looking to draw, paint, and create engaging digital art.
Best digital art & drawing software overall
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When it comes to the best digital art software, Adobe has dominated the scene for decades. Popular with artists and designers, it’s effectively the industry-standard drawing software – so, whether you’re a professional or just starting out, knowing Photoshop is a great skill to have.
There’s not a lot you can’t create with the software – unless you’re using an Android device, in which case, you’ll have to make do with the limited Photoshop Express. The main app, though, features a host AI tools for automating the more complex elements of digital art. Changing backgrounds, removing subjects, adding filters are all streamlined. It’s constantly being updated, too.
Photoshop’s interface might seem overwhelming if you’re new to it. The software is absolutely full of features, so it can be difficult to know what every tool means or where to find them. But you’ll find plenty of guides online, and once you understand Photoshop, you’ll easily find your way around Adobe’s other Creative Cloud apps.
The digital art and drawing software is available as a standalone subscription, bundled with Lightroom and 1TB cloud storage on the Photography plan, and as part of the Adobe Creative Clouds All Apps subscription.
Read our full Adobe Photoshop review.
Best free digital art software
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Gimp – or GNU Image Maniipulation Program – is a professional-grade digital art tool that works across Windows, macOS, and Linux machines. When it comes to the best digital art software, Gimp is to Photoshop what DaVinci Resolve is to Premiere Pro – a free and fully featured alternative to Adobe software.
During our own tests, we found the features to be very comprehensive, but performance was slightly less responsive, and more resource-intensive, than Photoshop – but nothing that dramatically halted our workflow.
The sheer number of features, and its open-source heritage, means the learning curve is steeper here than with a drawing program like ArtWeaver. But you’ll find the results worth it – whether you’re fine-tuning photographs or making your own, unique artwork. You can also customize the interface, making navigation more intuitive, and community support for the tool is outstanding.
Read our full GIMP review
Best drawing app for painters
One of the best drawing software for artists is Corel Painter. Aimed at designers, artists, and students, it provides you with a canvas and all the paintbrushes, paints, and styles you need to create a masterpiece.
Corel Painter attempts to recreate the feel of working on a canvas in the real world. You can daub likes of ‘thick paint’ onto your digital canvas, for example, then scrape around or blend, making highly realistic digital artwork
During our own tests, we found a large selection of brushes, with the ability to customize brushes and palettes, and importing new ones. Painter is a downloadable multi-platform app, compatible with third-party software like Photoshop, and of course, drawing tablets. Testing it on a desktop PC, performance felt smooth and we noticed considerable speed improvements over previous versions.
While many of the best drawing software platforms have moved to a subscription-only model, Painter is offers both subscription and perpetual licence for a one-off fee. A free trial is available. You’ll also find special rates for students and learning centres.
Read our full Corel Painter review.
Best free drawing software
Artweaver is an old master in the realm of drawing software. Steeped in experience, this tool offers a diverse set of predefined brushes and pencils that can be used to create some jaw-dropping artwork.
Best of all, it’s free – although you can get a perpetual license for Artweaver Plus. The one-off purchase is temptingly cheap, means no more endless subscriptions, and you get access to loads more tools. Existing users can upgrade to the latest version at a discounted rate.
In our experience, Artweaver’s interface is intuitive and easy-to-use, making it a great starting off point if you want free drawing software for beginners. However, it also boasts an impressively configurable brush system for professional artists. So, you can choose from a variety of predefined brushes, then tweak them to suit your exact needs. Other extras include sharing and collaboration tools and the option to record your canvas to review your artistic process.
Best digital art software for a realism
Developed by artist Peter Blaskovic, Rebelle is another highly versatile drawing and painting application. Described as “one-of-a-kind paint software”, it’s been designed to simulate a real-world painting experience for creatives working on watercolor, acrylic, wet and dry media artwork.
Blaskovic created the app as part of his experimental drawing projects and wanted an easy-to-use program to access natural painting tools on-the-go. The app uses realistic color blending, wet diffusion and drying techniques, and offers a plethora of watercolors, acrylics, inks and pastels.
There are also ‘dry’ tools like pencils, markers and erasers, so you don’t have to stick to paintbrushes. The app also boasts some interesting capabilities like the ability to tilt the canvas you’re working on.
What’s more, Rebelle works with Photoshop, allowing you to tap into 23 additional blending nodes. You can download a trial version to see if Rebelle is the best digital art and drawing software for you.
Best digital art software for desktop and mobile
Available on Windows, Apple, and Android devices, ArtRage is one of the best drawing software to download when you’re working across multiple devices and platforms.
It packs in a good range of painting features, such as pencils, pens, and oil painting brushes, as well as digital editing features such as layers, transform, filters, and custom brushes. Like Rebelle, it simulates real-world painting, with brushes reacting to the textures of the canvas. Collaborative workflow tools also means it’s ideal for wortking with colleagues and classmates on projects.
This impressive digital art software is available as a full package or a Lite version, which is half the price but limited in comparison. So, there’s flexibility here, but it’s worth checking the version you want does what you need.
There are also a good range of support options available on the website, such as manuals, tutorials, as well as an online community for advice, suggestions, tips, and tricks.
Best digital art & drawing software: FAQs
What is digital art & drawing software?
Digital art & drawing software transforms your computer monitor or mobile device screen into a blank canvas.
Unlike many general graphic design software, drawing apps tend to provide tools especially for artists and illustrators. Offering a vast array of tools, brushes, and color pallettes, artists will enjoy a realistic creative experience.
These sophisticated programs can emulate a variety of mediums, modeling paint effects with great accuracy.
However, the best software for digital art also allows you to break away from traditional methods. Layers, effects, filters, and many other tools allow you to manipulate your art in ways not previously possible.
What is the best drawing software for PC?
Adobe Photoshop is the best drawing software for Windows devices overall. The digital art program sets an industry-standard for features and tools, including impressive AI work to lighten the load. Photoshop also works well combined with the likes of Adobe Illustrator and Adobe Fresco. Corel Painter, Rebelle, and Krita offer extra for digital artists and painters.
To help you find the right program for you, we’ve reviewed the best Photoshop alternatives.
What’s the best drawing software for Mac?
Photoshop is the best software for drawing on Mac. It may feel daunting if you’re a beginner, but the powerful tool is intuitively designed, delivering pro results. It syncs your artwork across iPhone and iPad, too. If you’re an artist looking for painting apps on Mac, we recommend trying Corel Painter and Rebelle. Krita is a good free and open-source alternative.
What’s the best free digital art software?
Gimp is the best free digital art software on WIndows, Mac, and Linux. The open-source drawing app is as powerful as Adobe Photoshop, however, there is a learning curve to mastering the tool. The freemium Adobe Fresco is also worth trying, without having to pay for the full app. Krita is a fully-featured open-source digital art app for Windows, Mac, and Android, if you want to paint and draw.
For a simple free drawing software on PC, try Artweaver. It’s been around a while now, and the free version is somewhat limited, but the highly configurable brush system makes it worth a download.
What software do digital artists use?
Digital artists express themselves through a range of drawing apps. Many professionals use Photoshop, which works across desktop, mobile, and tablet and integrates with Adobe’s other digital art apps like Adobe Illustrator. Gimp is an open-source alternative to Photoshop, although it’s tied to desktops. The well-loved Procreate is a favorite drawing tool among talented digital artists. Autodesk Sketchbook is a great professional illustrator app for iPhone, Android, Windows, macOS, and iPad.
What are some digital art software alternatives?
While we’ve tested out the best digital art and drawing software, there are still alternative tools available – especially if looking for something more entry-level, or simply competent when it comes to art and design.
PaintShop Pro is a neat little art program. Although not as fully featured as some of the above it’s still very competent software for many aspects of art and design. Whether it’s photo editing, drawing, or creating/designing graphics, there are a lot of tools and additional plugins available to get the effect you want. Originally developed by Jasc, it’s now part of the Corel stable of creative programs.
Adobe Illustrator can sometimes be thought of as being the little brother to the more powerful Photoshop, but don’t overlook its possibilities. While Photoshop was originally built for photo editing, Adobe Illustrator has always been designed around illustration and drawing. You don’t need to choose between one or the other, however, as if you subscribe to even the basic level Adobe creative apps plan, you can have both Photoshop and Illustrator together.
Sketchup is more focused on 3D design rather than general painting and drawing, but is worth considering if that’s the main reason you need software for drawing. Even better is that there’s a free version, but even the paid-for versions are relatively cheap by comparison to some of the above, with an annual cost varying according to how many features you want to unlock.
Microsoft Paint is a basic art package that comes with every Windows install, and has done so since at least Windows 3.x. The release of Windows 10 has seen 3D editing tools added to it, but let’s be fair-it’s still a simple program that isn’t going to rival anything else on this list. However, because of the easy availability of MS Paint it’s worth mentioning – if nothing else because it does have a basic toolkit that is expanded on by other software.
How to choose which digital art & drawing software is best for you
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When deciding which digital art & drawing software is best, first consider how many features and tools you may need, the types of projects you’re creating, and your skill-level with this type of software.
Hardware
Digital art and drawing software isn’t typically too resource-intensive, with fair minimum system requirements. However, for more complex projects, you may need a machine capable of keeping up with the program. For more on this, we reviewed the best laptops for graphic design and the best laptops for drawing and digital art. Alternatively, you may prefer to use a dedicated digital art tablet, which we’ve also tested in our guide to the best drawing tablets.
Use
In some cases, fully featured digital art tools may not be needed. For example, if you’re just trying to make simple image, such as a logo, you may find the best free logo designer or similar will be fine. For more complex works, the best photo editors and professional graphic design software may be best.
Collaboration
Whether you’re a freelance artist or working in-house, online collaboration tools are essential for sharing your work, receiving feedback, and getting each project pixel-perfect and signed off. If you’re working across mediums, look for supported integration between related apps – for example, Photoshop seamlessly integrates with Adobe Lightroom.
Budget
Budget is another factor. We’ve reviewed plenty of free computer programs for artists, but there will be trade-offs. Adobe Fresco is a good intermediate app in this case, as it operates a freemium model, letting you get a real taste of what it offers before you commit to subscribing.
How we test the best digital art & drawing software
We’ve tested, reviewed, and rated a range of design apps across all industries, including the best graphic design software, the best mockup software, and the best interior design software.
To test for the best digital art and the best drawing software we first set up an account with the relevant software platform, whether as a download or as an online service. We then tested the service by creating a handful of images to see how the software could be used for the editing and development of each image. The aim was to push each software platform to see how easy it was to use different features, tools, and filters where available. We assess overall user interface and experience, the breadth of tools and brushes on offer, and value for money.
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